No Easy Answers
by Kate25
Summary: This story picks up at the end of Season 4, about a month before graduation. It is my version of something that could have happened at this point in time in everyone's life. Just updated- there's a big surprise coming for everyone, but why?
1. No Easy Answers

Disclaimer: I do not own Joey, Dawson, etc., the name "Dawson's Creek" or anything related to them. They are the property of Kevin Williamson and the WB.

Author's Note: I've written other fanfics before, but this is the first Dawson's Creek one. Consequently, I won't have the built in review base that I do for my ER fanfics, so any and all reviews are welcome and greatly appreciated, especially those with suggestions/ constructive criticism. Also, the title of this fanfic comes from the album containing a Laura Doyle song called, "This Love" which was played at the end of the season 6 premiere episode of Dawson's Creek. You can hear a good portion of the song at Dawson's Creek Music Guide.

Setting: End of "the high school years", maybe a month or so before graduation. An alternative version or "what might have happened."

            "There are no easy answers in life. Write about a time in your life when a situation wasn't black and white, but completely gray." Joey Potter stared at her paper in disbelief. Of all the prompts that were given out in her senior English Creative Writing class, she had to get this one. Look, she wanted to tell Ms. Patterson, my whole life has been a gray area. Couldn't you give me a nice, simple prompt, that didn't require me to delve deeply into some personal areas of my life that I'm really not all that interested in going into right now? But she didn't, because she knew that Ms. Patterson would just tell her, "The best writings come from things that you have experienced, that are personal to you." Joey was sure she was right, but at that moment, she really didn't like that fact.

            "Brriiing!" School was out for the day. Joey ran out the door of her English class, which was, thankfully, her last class of the day, as it was for all of her senior friends. This included, of course, her boyfriend Pacey Witter.

            "Hey," she said, kissing him quickly, then grabbing his hand and walking outside with him.

            "Hey yourself," he replied. "What's wrong? You look sad," he added.

            "Nothing, I'm just tired. It's been a long day." She smiled, hoping she had convinced Pacey that that was all it was. He seemed placated, because they continued walking without him saying anything else about it. As they reached the doors of Capeside High, they met up with their other friends- Jack, Dawson, and Jen. 

            "Hey, guys, what's up?" Jen asked.

            "The sky, the birds, some really tall trees…" Pacey drifted off.

            "Cut it out, Pace," she retorted, gently smacking him on the arm.

            "Anybody doing anything this weekend?" asked Jack.

            "Well, let's see. I have to watch Alexander tonight, work at the B&B on Saturday, and maybe on Sunday I'll attempt to do the massive amounts of homework the teachers are piling on in order to completely ruin the end of our senior year," said Joey.

            "Well, I'm glad to see some of us aren't taking things too seriously," replied Dawson.

            "Just because some of you feel that you can slack off because it's-,"

            "Calm down, Jo, I was just teasing."

            "Anyway," Jack butt in, "Do you guys all want to get together and do something on Saturday night? Maybe go out to dinner, see a movie, just walk around in this wonderful weather we've been having recently?"

            "Sure, sounds good," said Jen. "We can all meet at my house."

            "My shift at the B&B is done at 6:30, so anytime after that is okay," said Joey.

            "How about we all meet at Jen's at 7, then? We can decide what we're doing there," said Jack.

            "That works for me," added Pacey.

            "It's a date, then," said Jen.

            "Nice date. A couple, two exes, and one single gay guy," Pacey pointed out.

            "It's a figure of speech, Pacey. One of those things you learn about when you actually pay attention in class," Jen retorted as they all groaned.

            "Alright, I gotta split, but I'll see everybody tomorrow night," said Jack, waving as he walked away.

            "Bye!" "See ya!" "Bye-bye!" everyone chorused as they all went their separate ways.

            "Well, at least I have a little something to look forward to this weekend," said Joey, turning back to Pacey.

            "Yeah, this should be fun. Do you want me to walk you home?"

            "No, that's okay, I'll just walk by myself."

            "Okay, see you tomorrow night."

            Joey walked the rest of the way home in silence, knowing that there would be none once she arrived home. She tried to think of an easy way to do her English assignment, but the only things she could think of were extremely personal. Not that all of Capeside didn't know about most of them already; she just didn't want to drudge up subjects that she hoped were mostly buried and forgotten. She sighed as she turned into her driveway, having gotten nowhere. The essay would just have to wait until later.


	2. The Quaver in her Voice

Disclaimer: I do not own Dawson's Creek, Joey, Pacey, Dawson, Jack, Jen, or any of the other characters on the show. They are the property of Kevin Williamson and the WB.

Author's Note: Although all of the chapters will be third person, I'm going to tell each of them from the limited point of view of one of the members of the gang. Since I've already done Joey, it's now Jack's turn, and each of them will alternate between all the friends from now on. Please read and review, it doesn't have to be a long review, but I would appreciate just a little something so I know people are reading this. Thanks! P.S. to the people who wrote my reviews- there's no one new in this chapter, but I think I will right him in later, and by the next two chapters, hopefully you'll at least begin to figure out where this is going.

As he turned his key in the lock, Jack heard the phone begin to ring.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, trying to hurry up and get inside so he could answer it before the answering machine began playing. 

"Hello?" he said, out of breath.

"Jack? Is that you?" he heard the voice on the other side say.

"Andie! Wow, it's good to hear from you! What's going on?"

"Thanks, I'm doing really good. Actually, I have a surprise for you."

"Really? What is it? When is it coming?"

"It's here right now. I'm at the airport, and I need you to come pick me up."

"Are you serious? When did you get here?"

"Just right now. I didn't want you to know I was coming back; that's why I didn't call."

"Is everything okay? There's not a problem with Aunt Georgia, is there?"

"No, no, everything's fine. I just wanted to surprise you and Dad."

"Oh, wow, I'm so happy you're back, Andie. I'll come pick you up right away."

"You weren't doing anything tonight, were you? I didn't even think about interrupting your plans."

"No, everybody else had stuff to do tonight, but we had all planned on getting together tomorrow night, so you'll get to come with us. Everybody's going to be so excited that you're home."

"Don't tell them yet, okay? I want it to be a surprise for them too."

"Sure, that's fine. I'm gonna leave now, okay?"

"Yeah. See you in a little bit."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Jackers."

Jack quickly scribbled a note for his dad, telling him he'd be back in a little while, not wanting to spoil the surprise for him either. Then he immediately got back into his car and began to drive frantically towards the airport in Boston. He was so excited that Andie was coming home, but he couldn't figure out why she hadn't said anything to anyone about it. He knew that his sister was somewhat shy, but it wasn't like her to keep something big like this to herself. Even though she had said there was nothing wrong, he knew her well enough to recognize the quaver in her voice, and that it meant that she probably wasn't quite telling the truth.

"Maybe I'm just psycho-analyzing this way too much," he thought to himself. "I've probably been hanging around Dawson for too long." At this he laughed aloud. It was a beautiful day outside, the sun was shining, he was going to hang out with his best friends all night tomorrow, and his sister, whom he hadn't seen in several months, was finally back home. What could possibly go wrong with that picture? If Andie said she was fine, she probably was. Maybe she just wanted to see everyone and get back into the swing of things in Capeside before graduation. 

"Yeah," he thought, "I'm sure that's it." He smiled and pulled up to the ticket window at Boston Logan International Airport, took his ticket and pulled into the closest parking space he could find to the airport doors.

"I have the feeling Andie's gonna have a lot of luggage!"


	3. Don't Make the Same Mistake

Disclaimer: I do not own Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Jack, Jen, Andie, or Dawson's Creek itself. They are the property of Kevin Williamson and The WB.

Author's Note: This chapter will be from Andie's point of view, as you may have guessed from the last chapter. If at this point in time, you're getting kind of annoyed at me because you can't seem to figure out where the story is going, this chapter will at least begin to clear things up for you. Please continue to read and review. Thanks!

         "I love you too, Jackers." As Andie hung up the phone, she sank back into her chair. Although she knew it would be awhile before Jack got there, she was kind of glad about this, because it gave her some much needed time to think by herself. She'd basically spent the whole plane ride back from Venice trying to avoid thinking about anything, but with Jack coming quickly, she knew she had to explain why she had come back, because he wasn't going to accept "I just wanted to," as an answer.

         So why had she come back? She sighed to herself. The easy answer was that there was just nothing left for her in Venice anymore, and she had been going to come back in about a month anyway, for graduation. But she knew that there was much more to it than that. More than she was ready to tell anyone at that point in time, especially not Jack. At least not yet. So she was going to have to come up with some semblance of an explanation for the time being. Unfortunately, her mind was somewhat numb after the events of the past few days.

         "The luggage from Flight 316 arriving from Venice is now at Baggage Claim 3," came the voice over the loudspeaker. Andie jumped up from where she had been half asleep and walked over to the baggage claim. 

         "Wow, girl, you have a lot of bags!" said a young woman passing by. "Where are you coming from?"

         "Venice," Andie replied sadly.

         "Venice? You're from Venice?"

         "No, actually I'm from Capeside. I was staying in Venice with my aunt for awhile."

         "Something bad happen over there to make you come back home?"

         "What? Why would you say that?" Andie asked, startled.

         "Well, I just can't imagine why anyone would leave Venice, Italy to come back to crummy old Massachusetts," the woman replied.

         "Oh. Well, it's kind of a long story. See, I was going to come back anyway at the end of May so I could graduate with my class. But…well, let's just say some stuff happened that hastened my return."

         "Anything you want to talk about?" the young woman asked kindly.

         "No, not really. I haven't even told my dad and brother yet, and my brother and I are best friends. It's just…complicated, and I'm not sure how to say anything to Jack."

         "Jack's your brother?"

         "Yeah."

         "It must be nice to have a brother you can be friends with like that. My brother and I are only a couple of years apart, age-wise, but we haven't spoken in years."

         "Why? What happened?" Andie asked, surprised. She couldn't imagine never speaking to Jack again. Even throughout all the drama that had happened the year before, with the Ecstasy, and the fighting, she and Jack had still been close.

         "When we were in high school, my dad left my mom for another woman. My mom always told us that we should still talk to my father and keep on good terms with him, since he was still our father. I did, at least to an extent, but Mark couldn't accept that. As soon as he graduated, he went to live with a friend in California, and he hasn't come home since. I spoke to him a few times after that, but he could never forgive me for seeing Dad, and I could never forgive him for leaving Mom and I at a time like that. We're both so stubborn- maybe if we hadn't been, we'd still be in each other's lives."

         "Wow. I can't imagine something like that happening to Jack and I."

         "I hope it never does, honey. Just try not to make the same mistakes I did. My ride's here, I have to get going. But I hope everything works out for you." The woman stood up to leave.

         "Me too. Thanks for the advice."

         "No problem." Andie sat there for a moment, pondering what the woman had said. Then she picked up her bags, and walked over to the front of the airport where she thought Jack would be coming in.

         "Andie!!!" Jack screamed, running in and giving her a huge hug.

         "Jack, oh, wow, I've missed you so much!" she replied.

         "You ready to go home?" he asked.

         "Yeah, I'm ready. You have no idea." As they walked out to the car, they caught up a little bit on what had been going on in each of their lives. When they got to the car, Jack stopped and turned towards Andie.

         "Not that I'm not overjoyed to have you back, but is there some particular reason you came home?" Andie hesitated for a moment, then began,

         "Yeah, there is. It's kind of a long story. I'll tell you on the way home?"

         "Okay. Sounds good, Andie." She smiled, got in the car, gathered up her courage, and began telling the whole story.


	4. She's baack!

Disclaimer: I do not own Jack, Jen, Joey, Andie, Pacey, Dawson, or any other characters, places, or events, or _Dawson's Creek_ itself. They are the property of Kevin Williamson and the WB.

Author's Note: Sorry, about the cliffhanger, but I promise, you'll only be kept in suspense a little while longer. Since my Spring Break starts in 2 days (woohoo!) I should be able to write pretty often over the next week and a half. This is Jen's chapter, and picks up the next day (for those trying to keep track of time, that would be Saturday). A big thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, and please continue to do so!

         "What time are your friends coming over, Jennifer?" asked Grams, coming into the kitchen where Jen was seated.

         "Seven, Grams. Which actually means about 7:30 for some of them," she added.

         "Do you know what all of you are doing?" asked Grams.

         "No, we were all going to decide when they got here," Jen replied.

         "Well, I'd like to know where you're going. I don't want you just wandering around aimlessly at night if I don't know where you are."

         "Grams, Capeside's downtown has, like, twelve people in it at night, and I don't think many of them are rapists or murderers." Seeing her reproachful look, she added, "But we'll tell you what we're doing before we leave, I promise."

         Ding-dong! "I'll go get it," said Jen.

         "Hey, Jen, what's up?" said Dawson, stepping inside Jen's house.

         "Not much. You're the first one here, so I guess that means you get first choice on what we're doing tonight."

         "How about-,"

         "_Except_ going to see some artistic, 'classic' movie that no one's ever heard of but you," she added.

         "Hey, now, that's not the only thing I like to do," he protested.

         "Well, unfortunately for you, I just saw Pacey and Joey pull up, so I'm now going to take their suggestions. Coming with me?" Dawson paused for a minute.

         "You're still not okay with it, are you?" Jen said, penetrating accurately into Dawson's reflex.

         "What? No, of course I'm okay with it. Why wouldn't I be?" he retorted.

         "Okay, whatever. Why don't you go in the kitchen and talk to Grams while I go get the door." She walked up to the door and interrupted the last minute make-out session that Joey and Pacey were having.

         "Well, now I know why it was taking you two so long to answer the door," Jen said sarcastically.

         "Sorry, Jen," said Joey. "We're coming in now."

         "Hey, speak for yourself. I'm not sorry…" Pacey drifted off as Joey gave him a Look and pulled him into the house behind her.

         "Hey, Dawson, Grams," Joey said, walking into the kitchen.

         Ding-dong! Jen heard the doorbell ring once more. "That must be Jack," she said pointlessly.

         "Hey," Jack said.

         "Hey yourself," Jen replied. "Do you wanna come in?"

         "Actually, I need everyone to come out here for a minute.  I have a surprise." Jen looked puzzled, but called everyone into the front of the house.

         "What's up, Jack?" asked Joey. He grinned widely and pulled the door open farther.

         "Andie!" they all screamed, and each gave her a big hug in turn. Last was Pacey.

         "What's up, McPhee? Haven't seen you in a while."

         "Nope. But then, I haven't had much time to think about you what with all the wild and crazy stuff that's been going on in Venice…"

         "Oh, thanks. I missed you too," Pacey replied sarcastically.

         "Well, since Andie's here, and we all need to catch up, how about we just go to dinner and then walk around for awhile," said Jen.

         "That sounds good to me," said Dawson.

         They all walked downtown together, talking and laughing, and catching up on everything that had happened in the past few months. Andie was happy to learn that Jack and Jen were back to being their usual best friends. Dawson, Joey, and Pacey seemed to be doing okay, but Andie could sense that it was best not to push the issue. Just then, Jen remembered something.

         "Hey, Jack, where's Tobey at tonight?" she asked.

         "Oh, the mysterious Tobey I've been hearing about. What is going on with you two, anyway?" said Andie.

         "He's out of town for the weekend," Jack said, purposefully avoiding Andie's question.

         "They go out. They just won't admit it yet," put in Joey.

         "Oh, thanks. I'm so glad you know my life better than I do," teased Jack.

         "You're welcome. It's not a problem," she smiled, and they all laughed. Yet Jen still wondered, as did everyone but Jack, what the real reason was that Andie was back.


End file.
